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Friday, December 19, 2008

Always Fun To Know StuffBut most of you already know this!

During the English Martyrdom, Catholics in England were not permitted to practice The Faith openly. The punishment for being a priest was death. The punishment for having Mass said in your home was that the entire household (including children) were put to death.

Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember. -The Partridge in a Pear Tree was The Blessed Virgin Mary and The Christ Child.

-Two Turtle Doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French Hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The Four Calling Birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The Five Golden Rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The Twelve Drummers Drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.Maybe pass this onto your kids. And then remind them that the Latin Mass they just attended use to bring the death penalty.

Um...hate to rain on the parade but what are the distinctly Catholic points in this song and how do they differ from the Protestants? Any mention of Rome, the Pope, Baptism, the Sacrements, the Eucharist? Nope. The "code" could be for any Christian denomination.

Sadly, the fact is that it's simply a very old English 'Round and relatively meaningless. The first seven gifts are birds (Golden Rings are pheasants) and the remaining five are simply people. Sorry, there's no deeper meaning.